Lesson Learned
by chocolatequeen
Summary: In which the Doctor learns that some things should not be sonicked, and Rose's negotiation skills get the better of him. Part of True Things, following Jackie Tyler Saves the Universe.


**AN:** This is set in True Things, after Jackie Tyler Saves the Universe. That makes it post Doomsday fix, with Jackie in this universe (only mentioned, but important) and with the Doctor and Rose sharing a telepathic bond. The 31 Days of Ficmas prompt I'm using is Holiday baking.

The Doctor followed the sounds of Christmas music and the fragrance of cinnamon and vanilla until he found himself standing in the doorway to the galley, watching his bond mate as she danced across the room with a cookie sheet in hand.

Rose had her hair pulled back and an apron tied around her waist. The dusting of flour coating her cheeks was adorable, and as soon as her hands were free, he glided into the room and joined her dance, holding her hand while she twirled around him.

"I've been looking everywhere for you," he told her as he pulled her close and dipped her low.

Rose chuckled, her eyes bright with amusement. "I've been here all day, Doctor. Look."

She gestured at the table, and the Doctor's eyes widened when he looked over and saw the piles of Christmas goodies weighing the table down. "More of Rita-Anne's teaching again?" he guessed as he released Rose and sauntered over to the table.

"Yep! We would start baking on the first and not stop until Christmas Eve."

Despite all the goodies on the table, the Doctor couldn't help but reach for the banana bread first. Shortly after their trip to Oregon, Rose had found a recipe for his favourite treat that beat every other variety he'd ever had.

Rose rolled her eyes and went back to her mixer while the Doctor made it his mission to sample everything on the table. There was no point in telling the Time Lord that he would spoil his dinner or ruin his teeth—bloody superior biology meant he didn't even have to worry about putting on a few extra pounds around the holidays.

Once she had the butter and sugar creamed together and the eggs beaten in, she shifted a few feet down the counter to get the dry ingredients ready. She'd just finished measuring out the cinnamon and ginger for the next batch of biscuits when she heard the unmistakable sound of the sonic screwdriver.

When she looked over at her husband, he had his hands in his pockets and an innocent look on his face. "What are you doing?" she asked suspiciously.

He rocked back on his heels. "Just helping things go along a bit faster," he told her. "You've been in here all day already."

Rose looked at him, then at her mixer, and came to a quick decision. "Well, if you really want to help, why don't you mix this batch up while I get the next one ready?" she suggested.

The Doctor's eyes lit up, and she almost felt guilty for the trap she'd just set for him—until she remembered he'd actually set it himself.

"What do I need to do?" he asked eagerly.

Rose handed him the bowl containing the dry ingredients, then pointed at the mixer. "Add this to the egg mixture slowly," she told him. "A little bit at a time, until it's all mixed in evenly."

He stepped towards the mixer, and Rose took a step back. As she'd expected, the Doctor had sonicked the speeds on the mixer so even on low, it whirred dangerously fast. She bit her lip and covered her mouth with her hands to hold back her laughter.

It burst out a moment later when the Doctor followed her instruction and poured some of the flour into the egg mixture. At the speed the mixer was going, the flour went flying, coating his hair with a fine layer of cinnamon-scented white dust.

The Doctor yelled in shock and shoved the switch back into the off position. "You," he growled at Rose as he shook flour out of his hair. "You knew that would happen. You set me up!"

Rose shook her head and danced away from him. "I'm not the one who thought it would be a good idea to sonic the mixer," she countered. "Didn't you learn your lesson when you ruined Mum's toaster?"

He scowled, but with his eyebrows white with flour dust, it was hard to be intimidated by him. "I didn't ruin it," he protested. "It makes the perfect eggs Benedict now."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Well, if you know anyone who buys a toaster because they want to make eggs Benedict, we can give it to them. But most of us want to be able to make toast." She crossed her arms over her chest. "Where'd you even get the idea to add a Hollandaise spigot onto a toaster anyway?"

The Doctor raked his hand through his hair, and more flour fell onto the floor. Rose couldn't stand it any more. She doubled over and laughed, his indignation too much to withstand.

"Oi!"

Rose kept laughing.

"All right, Rose Tyler, you asked for it."

The Doctor grabbed the bowl of dry ingredients she'd mixed together for these biscuits. Before she could process what he was doing, he grabbed a handful of flour out of the bowl and threw it at her face.

Rose blinked several times and sputtered as some of the flour got caught in her lungs. "Oh, you did not just do that," she said after she was done coughing.

He held onto the bowl and glared triumphantly at her. "What are you going to do about it?" he challenged.

Rose lunged for the counter and grabbed the flour canister. "Fight fire with fire!" she cried as she tossed a handful of flour in his direction.

The Doctor spun around and ran for the door, but it disappeared just before he reached it. "You always take her side!" he grumbled at the ceiling.

Rose stalked towards the Doctor, the canister tucked under her arm. "Nah, she just doesn't want this mess to spread through the rest of her corridors." The lights flashed in agreement and Rose giggled.

A hint of impish humour trickling over the bond warned Rose just in time to spin out of the way of the Doctor's arms as he leapt towards her. His momentum carried him forward, and he stumbled over his Chucks for a few steps before catching his balance. In the process, he lost his grip on the bowl and it clattered to the floor, leaving him defenceless.

Rose put her hand on her hip and glared at him as he straightened and turned back to face her. "That was a bad idea," she told him seriously. "I was ready to offer a truce, but now…" She pulled her hand out of the flour canister and let the white powder sift through her fingers onto the galley floor.

The Doctor held his hands up. "No, no, I'll take a truce."

Rose pursed her lips. "My conditions are high," she warned him.

"Anything, as long as I don't end up with more flour down the back of my neck." The Doctor rubbed at his neck, just above his collar. "It's starting to itch."

"Anything?" Rose repeated, keeping her voice as even as possible.

"Yes!" He tapped his fingers against his legs.

Rose smiled, and she could feel the Doctor's chagrin when he realised she actually had a prize in mind. _Too late now, love,_ she teased him, then she offered her condition.

"Mum wants us to come stay with her for the week between Christmas and New Year's."

The Doctor blanched. "A week?" he whined.

Rose raised her eyebrow, then tilted her head to examine him critically. "You know, I don't think you've got enough flour on the right side," she said, sauntering towards him.

The Doctor's eyes widened. "All right. A week with Jackie."

"Without sonicking any of the appliances," Rose added, gesturing significantly at the mess around them.

The Doctor's sigh was mournful. "I think I can safely promise that I have learned my lesson."


End file.
